Ted Green

How did you get into making art?

I drew a lot as a child and took art courses throughout high school. In college my first major was biology, and the subject fascinated me, but at that stage in my life I didn’t have the focus to really study, so I took a drawing class, and it was an epiphany. Even then, I was too caught up in the mindset of figuring out what my Career was supposed to be, so I opted for commercial art. I ended up dropping out, and traveled through Europe, finally landing in Düsseldorf and studying painting at the art academy here.

What are you currently working on?

This current body of work, the Riff Paintings, is something I’ve been working on for a few years now. These works consist entirely of sets of repeating abstract gestures that overlap and weave in and out of each other. I’m very process-oriented, so as long as the end result is aesthetically satisfying, it all revolves around the systematic, basically conceptual strategy that I use.

What inspired you to get started on this body of work?

I listen to a lot of music, and after months of asking myself the same question, namely “how can I paint an abstract painting that looks like that song sounds?”, I had to admit that the question wasn’t rhetorical, but more of a calling. I don’t mean echoing the mood that a song might evoke, but rather translating the repeating sounds into groups of shapes and lines, in color, on a 2-D surface. It’s kind of a painterly take on graphic scores, based on the broader idea of repeating acoustic signals in music, and not intended as a coherent or unified code.

Do you work on distinct projects or do you take a broader approach to your practice?

There are a few series that I keep adding pieces to as time goes by, based on the size, the number of iterations within a set of elements, the distance of the intervals and other formal properties in the composition. But I like to drift away from that as well.

What’s a typical day like in your studio?

I try to avoid a strict daily regimen. As a rule, I’ve got one large piece and maybe a small format going on side by side, or up to three smaller canvases parallel. Recently there’s been 2-3 works on paper all in progress at the same time, off to the side.

Who are your favorite artists?

These days, Joanne Greenbaum and Kerstin Brätsch are two painters that I really admire, and in general Albert Oehlen, Basquiat, Twombly, Kirkeby. As far as music is concerned, Lightning Bolt, Oneohtrix Point Never and Tobacco / Black Moth Super Rainbow all come fairly close to informing my own painting work.

Where do you go to discover new artists?

Instagram really is a valuable tool in that sense, too bad that it’s such a pain to sift through all the trash that the algorithm delivers. I try to find a balance between attending openings at galleries and museums, in the area and abroad, and not being constantly on the go. Tips from friends are often helpful, for visual art and for music, and Bandcamp is fantastic.